McCarthy brothers could be Irish duo

If everything goes well, there is a good possibility the Notre Dame football team will have two brothers from Cardinal Mooney High starting at the safety positions next season.

Kyle McCarthy, a redshirt junior and starting safety this year for the Irish, could be flanked alongside his brother, Dan, a freshman who is being redshirted this year, to form a rare two-brother unit in college football.

“There is a good possibility that we will be twin safeties back there. That is something that I am looking forward to and it is a distinct possibility,” said Kyle, who is in his first year as a starter for coach Charlie Weis’ Irish. “We have talked about that and we are looking forward to it.”

To get to this point, Kyle and Dan had to overcome injuries incurred before the start of their freshman years that made them redshirts.

Kyle was redshirted after suffering a shoulder injury in preseason camp that required surgery. And Dan was shelved to allow more time for a neck injury that he incurred while a senior at Mooney in the playoffs to heal after surgery.

“I won the [starting] job at spring practice,” Kyle said. “I was the most experienced guy competing for the job, and experience helped and working hard in the weight room.”

The brothers are doing their parts this season to make their defensive dream-team become a reality next year.

In fact, Kyle has evolved into Notre Dame’s defensive leader with a team-high 52 tackles on 29 solo stops and 23 assists in five games. He has been a key factor in the Irish (4-1) success entering Saturday’s game at No. 22-ranked North Carolina at 3:30 p.m.

Dan, meanwhile, is practicing with the team and continues to make progress while undergoing rehabilitation to get ready for next year.

“Dan is doing very well,” Kyle said. “He still practices with the team. He is doing real well in rehab and the weight room and he will be ready to go [next season].”

Kyle believes he is leading the team in tackles because of strong defensive play by the Irish front walls.

“The line and linebackers are doing a great job and funneling the ball carriers toward me,” said the quick-moving and aggressive Kyle, who also has 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception. “They are doing their jobs and staying in their gaps, and when they are holding their assignment, the ball carriers will be making a cut where there are no blockers [toward me].”

The McCarthy name doesn’t end on the football field at Notre Dame, because older brother Brian McCarthy, also a graduate of Mooney and the university, is attending law school there.

And there could be another McCarthy coming up the football ladder, guided by parents John and Janet: Michael, 13, plays football for St. Charles in Boardman and is planning to follow in his brothers’ footsteps at Mooney.

Kyle is looking forward to meeting some of his family at the North Carolina game.

“I have a lot of family in the North Carolina area, aunts and uncles, and I am expecting them to be at the game,” said Kyle, who is majoring in finance with about a 3.0 grade-point average. Dan is majoring in business.

“North Carolina will be a tough opponent,” Kyle said. They are ranked among the top 25 in the country. I think it will be tough game, two teams trying to make a name for themselves. It will be an interesting matchup.”

X John Kovach covers sports for The Vindicator. Write him at kovach@vindy.com.